Tasty uni ikura don from Sushi Zanmai @ Tsukiji Market, Tokyo

Tsukiji market in Tokyo is a one stop centre where you can find the best and freshest raw seafood. One of the attraction dish here is uni ikura don which combined two best melt in your mouth delicacy which is sea urchin and fish roe (red caviar) on top of cooked rice. The firm globes of salty salmon roe complement well with the rich and softness of sea urchin. There are many variation of rice bowl available in the market but I found uni ikura don offers the best flavour.

Taste:10/10(Excellent. Fresh fish roe and melt in your mouth sea urchin. Adequate flavour on the rice with slight sourness of vinegar and the sea urchin taste sweet).
Price:3/10(Expensive. The rice bowl priced at 2,800 Yen).


Rice bowl with a lot of caviar.

Uni ikura don. Sea urchin and fish roe rice bowl. I like the popping juicy fish roe.


Fresh fish roe.

I eat it from this Sushi Zanmai shop in Tsukiji market.

GPS/Coordinate: 35.665316, 139.770458
Address: 4-4-3 Tsukiji, Chuo 104-0045, Tokyo Prefecture
Public transport: Tsukiji station on Hibiya line Tokyo metro or Tsukijishijo station on Toei Oedo line.

Japan bullet train (Shinkansen) experience

Japan’s high speed bullet trains, also known as Shinkansen trains give visitors an experience to reach to their destination on time with speeds reaching up to 320 kilometre per hour. The main Shinkansen lines with bullet trains include Tokaido, Sanyo, Tohoku, Joetsu, Nagano and Kyushu. Most popular routes include Tokyo to Osaka and Tokyo to Nagano with high frequency departures and punctual. Lets follow me below to discover my experience of boarding bullet train from Tokyo to Nagano.


Check your train departure on the electronic board to determine the platform to board the bullet train.

If you are hungry, you can quickly purchase one of these bento box to have it on the train.

There is also bento box which comes in the Shinkansen train form. After the meal you can keep the lunch box as a souvenir. Brilliant!

Very busy Tokyo station. Heading to the train platform.

The bullet train is very long indeed.

Boarding Hokuriku Shinkansen to Nagano. The Hokuriku Shinkansen began service in 1997 as preparation for Nagano Winter Olympics.

Selfie with the train at Tokyo main station. Only here you can see many types of Japan bullet train as here is the beginning of all bullet train in Japan. The bullet trains here will go to Osaka, Nagoya and Toyama. All the trains look new and clean.

Inside the bullet train. Its a long distance travel. So its normal for the passenger to carry large luggage on board.

Spacious and comfortable seating.

You can purchase hot drink, soft drink or even alcoholic drink on the train.

Push cart in the train. Look, you can even purchase Hello Kitty toy, snacks and heavy meal such as lunch in a form of bento box.

Purchasing bento box on board the train as I haven't had my lunch yet.

Neat chopstick packaging.


Wow the meal is so nicely prepared. It's nutritious as well. With this meal, it covers my lunch needs for vegetables, meat, dessert and seafood. The rice were slightly sour with sour plum and glutinous rice wrapped with lotus leaf. Surprisingly, the price of the bento set is quite reasonable with same price as at the station. There meal were tasty and I can rate it 8/10. My only complaint is the bento box is a bit cold. Maybe the meal prepared much earlier as its already late afternoon.

Fried mackerel, tempura and spicy vegetables.

View from the train which route from Tokyo to Nagano.

Almost reaching Nagano with nice mountain view.


Reached Nagano station.

While waiting for train, you can have your hot meal on train platform.

Nagano station.

Nagano was host to 1998 Winter Olympics.

Dark shoyu broth ramen from Shinpuku Saikan @ Nagano, Japan

This ramen is the largest portion of ramen I ever seen. I didn't expect the ramen to be such huge bowl with all the ingredients. Shinpuku Saikan ramen originated in Kyoto have an outlet in Nagano. Since this is the first time I tried dark shoyu broth ramen, I was surprised by the dark color of their soup. After simmering chicken and pork bones thoroughly, their secret special rich sauce made from Kyoto-made soy sauce is added. Though the dark colour of the soup makes the soup looks very strong, the taste is surprisingly light. The ramen bowl that I have consist of straight noodles, slices of roast pork, plenty of chopped green onions, bean sprouts, two eggs (one raw and ajitama egg), bamboo shoots and the soup create a perfect match. Surprisingly this bowl contains 8 pieces of roast pork!

Taste:8/10(Good. Shinpuku Saikan ramen seems to be a healthier option of ramen as it contains balanced amount of vegetables and meat. The roasted pork or char siu is good with tender noodles. Ajitama egg were perfectly done and taste good. My only comment were the bamboo shoots are a bit crunchy. Would be better if softer).
Price:7/10(Moderate. This bowl of ramen is a good deal if you are big eater. Priced at 1,100 Yen, you get 8 pieces of roast pork, plenty of bamboo shoots and two eggs. The noodles portion is huge and you can drink the soup as well if you don't mind the saltiness of the soup).


Shinpuku Saikan ramen. Contains all the ingredient that a bowl of ramen should have.

Lovely dinner.

Ramen noodles. Slightly different type of noodles.

Ajitama egg.

The cook busy preparing ramen. You can sit at the counter or individual table. Its open kitchen concept. You can watch all the ramen preparation process if you sit at the counter.

Environment inside the restaurant.

Visit this ramen restaurant in Nagano if you looking for budget eat.

GPS/Coordinate: 36.645297, 138.187291
Address: Nagano-ken, Nagano-shi, Minaminagano, Kitaishidōchō, Japan.
Opening hours: 7.30am until 10.00pm.
Public transport: 10 minutes walk from Nagano station.
Website: Shinpuku Saikan (Japanese)

Budget Munich Trip Itinerary - 6 Days 5 Nights - Summer season

Munich being famous for well-heeled and lederhosen clad thigh slapper is Germany's second city which offers much attractions to the visitors. The abundance of beer garten and halls add much attraction to this Bavarian city. The city centre of Munich is walkable and have some of the best world class museums and art galleries. There are also a chance to view the legacy of the olympic venue and modern car maker of BMWs. On the dark side, Munich is also the site of the first concentration camp in Germany which saw many innocent lives being taken away during the second world war.


The centre of Munich - Marienplatz.

Neuschwanstein Castle is just 2 hours away from Munich. This a perfect day out trip.

Hofbrauhaus is a famous beer hall in Munich. Do make sure you try their beer. Its really good.

Day	Morning	Afternoon	Evening	Night
Day 1 (Sun)		1. Travel from London to Munich via British Airways on Airbus A320 flight. The journey took approximately 2 hours.	1. Check in at Seibel's Park Hotel near Munich Pasing Station.	1. First meal in Munich with traditional German dinner at Zum Spoeckmeier. The shop located not far from Marienplatz S-Bahn station. On the day of my arrival was sunday. It hardly find any restaurant open on that night. 2. Sightseeing at Marienplatz and window shopping of the surrounding shops. 3. Munich special souvenir shop which sells cuckoo clocks - Max Krug.
Day 2 (Mon)	1. Breakfast at Seibel's Park Hotel. Their eating area was lovely. 2. Joining SANDEMANs NEW Europe Munich Free walking tour. This a 3 hours walking tour to get a glimpse of Munich.	1. Sightseeing at Odeonsplatz. The attractions here are large public square and Royal Avenue.	1. Late lunch at Opatija for German food. 2. Continue sightseeing at Odeonsplatz.	1. Visiting Hofbrauhaus Royal brew house. Unfortunately during this day, the beer hall was full with diners. I was not able to get a seat for dinner in Hofbrauhaus beer hall. 2. Having dinner at Zum spoeckmeier to try out German short sausage with sauerkraut (sour cabbage).
Day 3 (Tue)	1. Breakfast at Seibel's Park Hotel. 2. Morning walk at English Garden Beautiful and large garden where you can watch water surfing on human made river in the garden. If you are lucky, you can watch naked people as well in the garden.	1. Lunch at Chinesischer Turm in English Garden. 2. Visit BMW welt. Look at the latest models of BMW automobile.	1.Visit Munich olympic park. Munich was the host of summer Olympic in 1972. The Olympic was famous due to unfortunate incident of Munich massacre. 2. Sightseeing in Karlsplatz which full of commercial shops and people watching.	1. Dinner at Zum Augustiner. 2. Night photography at Karlsplatz.
Day 4 (wed)	1. Breakfast at Seibel's Park Hotel. 2. Taking a trip from SANDEMANs NEW Europe Munich tour to Neuschwanstein Castle which is located in Fussen.	1. Lunch having prepacked food from Yorma's at Munich main train station.	1. Continue with Neuschwanstein Castle tour. This is a full day out tour	2. Dinner at Hofbrauhaus in Munich.
Day 5 (Thur)	1. Breakfast at Seibel's Park Hotel. 2. Full day visit to Salzburg in Austria.	1. Visit Mirabell Palace in Salzburg.	1. Window shopping at Getreidegasse street. 2. Getting to know Mozart Kugeln chocolate and taste it.	1. Roasted chicken Bavarian style at Hofbrauhaus. This is my second dinner in Hofbrauhaus. Their beer is something you should look forward. Taste really good.
Day 6 (Fri)	1. Breakfast at Seibel's Park Hotel. 2. Visit Dachau Concentration camp museum. This is a must visit place when you are in Munich if you haven't visit any world war two Nazi concentration camp before	1. Visit Munich Residentz to view marvellous architecture of the palace	1. Taking a stroll at Viktualienmarkt farmer's market. 2. Early dinner at Zum Alten markt. Great food. 3. Having ice-cream from Rischart.	1. Take a walk around Marienplatz. 2. Last German food dinner at Weisses Brauhaus in Tal.
Day 7 (Sat)	1. Breakfast at Seibel's Park Hotel. 2. Took train to Frankfurt.

Roasted Duck of Gold Mine @ Bayswater, London

Gold Mine is another restaurant which is famous for tasty roast duck in London. I have tried Four Season before in my previous trip and this time is to try on Gold Mine which some said its better than Four Season roast duck. Located at Bayswater, this restaurant have a very extensive menu serving authentic Chinese dishes. I am eager to try out on how good is their roast duck. However, on that day, the restaurant is very full and I have to queue outside the restaurant. Being standing outside for 15 minutes and feeling hungry, I decided to have the roast duck take away and eat it at my hostel instead.

Taste:7/10(Moderate. The roast duck portion for one person is huge and the meat is a lot. They provide spicy sauce to accompany the rather blend taste of the duck. I like their roasted spicy garlic sauce. However, overall the roasted duck rice taste is just ok and its too much fat).
Price:5/10(Near expensive. The take away duck rice meal at GBP6.40).


Long queue outside the Gold Mine restaurant. All waiting to try out their famous roast duck.



This is what people are waiting to have. Roasted duck.

My take away roasted duck rice.

Extensive Chinese meal menu.

Coordinate/GPS: 51.513403,-0.1875.
Address: 102 Queensway, London W2 3RR, United Kingdom.
Opening hours: Daily 12.00pm until 11.00pm.
London tube: Bayswater station.